Courses on International Relations and International Ethics
Politics 116: World Politics
This course is an introduction to the study of international relations. Its purpose is to outline some of the main theoretical approaches and concepts used by social scientists in the study of world politics, including war, diplomacy, imperialism, balance of power, international regimes, and international political economy. Historical and contemporary examples will be used to illustrate the theories and concepts.
Politics 200: Research Methods
This course is an introduction to research methods vital to the study of international relations. It takes students through the process of formulating a research question, investigating it through quantitative and qualitative methods, and presenting the findings in clear and compelling prose. The course provides a foundation for writing research papers in advanced courses as well as an honors thesis. It also provides the basis for more advanced coursework in quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Politics 305: International Society
This seminar is an intensive reading course in theories of international society, the idea that states and peoples are or should be linked to each other through a web of shared values and institutions that make international relations more than the mere quest by states for security, power, and wealth. It focuses on the work of three men who have profoundly influenced conceptions of international society: Hedley Bull, Immanuel Kant, and John Rawls. How did they understand international society? What are or should be the values and institutions that give rise to it and support it? What implications do their visions of international society have for war and peace, state sovereignty, religion, democracy, capitalism, distributive justice, human rights, and international law? What responses and criticisms have their arguments engendered?
Politics 319: War: What Is It Good For?
War is one of the most complex and controversial of all human institutions. The premise of this course is that we cannot begin to understand it unless we examine it using the approaches and insights of multiple disciplines. Accordingly, this course is a multidisciplinary exploration of the various ways humans have understood, represented, experienced, and justified war over time and across cultures. Using art, literature, and film in addition to social scientific research, this course considers the many different meanings war has in human societies. It analyzes possible causes of war, including innate human drives, gender differences, socialization, regimes, and ideological and resource competition in a condition of international anarchy. It probes how war is experienced by soldiers and civilians. Finally, it examines justifications for war from a range of ethical perspectives.
Politics 333: Just War and Jihad: The Comparative Ethics of War and Peace
Why do we moralize about war? When is war justified, if ever? What restrictions should govern the conduct of soldiers? This seminar explores these universally relevant questions within the ethical traditions of Western and Islamic civilizations. Its focus is on how both civilizations have historically grappled with the reality of human conflict, and particularly the use of war in the service of the state. The course is structured around three broad themes: (1) The problem of war and morality in international relations; (2) The application of moral arguments to specific issues raised by modern war, including terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and women and war; (3) The question of responsibility for enforcement and violations of moral constraints in wartime. The framework is comparative and seeks to elucidate both the similarities and differences in Western and Islamic approaches to war. The methodology is both theoretical as well as practical, with moral arguments being illustrated by specific examples drawn from history, literature, and film.
Politics 343: Law and Religion
This seminar explores the relationship between law and religion through a comparative study of eight countries. The case studies include three Western democracies: the United States, the United Kingdom, and France; three Muslim countries: Egypt, Iran, and Pakistan; Israel, which has struggled to reconcile its twin identities as both a Jewish and a secular state; and India, a religiously diverse and secular democracy. The focus will be on the role of religion in the constitutional law of these countries, both in the text of constitutional documents and in judicial interpretation of these constitutional texts. Starting with an analysis of the religion clauses in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the seminar explores questions relating to the separation of religion and state, religious liberty, and the proper role of courts in negotiating societal disputes over religion.
Politics 365: Ethics and International Relations
Do ethical considerations matter in international affairs? Should they be considered in the conduct of foreign policy? This course explores how various writers on international relations have answered these questions. The course addresses three broad issues: (1) the problem of morality in international relations; (2) the application of moral arguments to specific international issues, including just war, intervention, human rights, and distributive justice; (3) the responsibility of leaders and/or peoples for international policies. While the course focuses upon the Western literature in this field, non-Western perspectives, critiques, and challenges will also be considered in an attempt to answer the question: Is there an emerging international society of shared ethical values and norms?
Courses on Middle East and Islamic Politics
Politics 216: Introduction to Middle East Politics
Since the end of World War II, the politics of the Middle East have consistently been a central focus of world attention. The various factors which have made this region so important to international politics are the subject of this course. The course begins by considering the historical situation of the region in the early twentieth century at the time of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. It then traces the emergence of independent states before and after World War II, the rise of Pan-Arab and Zionist ideologies, the subsequent Arab-Israeli conflicts, the intra-Arab disputes, the superpower rivalry and its influence on regional politics, the role of Islamic movements in domestic and international politics, the causes and impact of the Iranian revolution, and the changing political economy, particularly the impact of oil upon the region’s peoples and politics. This survey course is intended to prepare students for more detailed study of Middle East politics in advanced courses.
Politics 218: Israel/Palestine: Fact/Fiction
The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is one of the most protracted, divisive, and internationally significant of our times. It is also a conflict that has yielded an extremely rich and diverse body of artistic responses. This seminar traces the evolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through autobiography, novels, short stories, poetry, and film. It focuses on the birth of Israel and the creation of a Palestinian diaspora, the toll war and terrorism have taken on both sides, and the mental and physical barriers that separate Israelis and Palestinians today.
Politics 224: The United States and Iran
This course is a survey of America’s relationship with Iran from the end of World War II to the present. It explores the importance of oil and Iran’s geostrategic location in making the shah of Iran one of America’s closest allies in the cold war. The course also examines issues often neglected by American policy makers, much to the detriment of American policies--the nature of Iran’s society, and particularly the influence of Shi’ism and the ulema in Iran’s modern history. The course concludes with an analysis of the causes of the Iranian revolution and the history of U.S. relations with the Islamic Republic under Khomeini and his successors.
Politics 226: The United States, Israel, and the Arabs
This course is a survey of American foreign policy towards the Arab states and Israel from the end of World War II to the present. At the domestic level, it explores the underlying institutional, political, and ideological factors that have contributed both to the persistent as well as variable aspects of American policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict. On the international level, it considers how American policy has shaped the history of the modern Middle East and how American policy has been shaped by Middle Eastern actors and the cold war.
Politics 323: Comparative Politics of the Middle East
This course applies theories of comparative politics to the countries of the Middle East. It focuses on how culture, elites, institutions, and social groups have shaped the politics of this region. Emphasis will be upon the following countries: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Turkey.
Politics 324: Comparative Politics of North Africa
This course applies theories of comparative politics to the countries of North Africa. It explores the similarities and differences in the political development of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya since the end of World War II. Specific topics include political culture, state-building, legitimacy, democratization, and political economy.
Politics 341: Political Islam
This seminar explores the complex roles Islam plays in the domestic and international politics of the Muslim world. It begins with the study of Islamic responses to European imperialism in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with particular emphasis upon the emergence of Islamic modernism. It then focuses upon the growth of Islamic movements in the Arab world and South Asia, and their response to contending ideologies, including secular nationalism and socialism. The impact of these movements and the instrumental ends to which Islam is used is studied in three regime-types: patrimonial Saudi Arabia, military-authoritarian Pakistan, and revolutionary Iran. The seminar concludes by considering the current and possible future impact of Islam on international relations.
Politics 342: Islamic Political Thought
This course is a survey of Islamic political thought from the origins of Islam to the present. The Islamic tradition has intertwined religion and politics to a greater degree than perhaps any other faith, starting with the founding of a political community by the prophet Muhammad himself. Accordingly, Muslim thinkers sought from an early period to discern the best structures for Islamic political institutions and the right principles for Islamic political practice. This process of inquiry continues today in a vibrant, often contentious manner. The goal of this seminar is to trace the evolution of Islamic political thought over the centuries on key topics and to see how internal and external pressures today are forcing fundamental rethinking on all of them.